The front end of the car was already in good shape (the car had been restored some years before the owner bought it) but the rear was a completely different proposition. It needed extensive work and a number of new panels including two rear wings, two inner wheelarches and both sills replacing.
The owner then entrusted the car to a professional to respray it in Damask Red. The work cost him four figures even back in 2000, but it was obviously worth every penny because it is still completely free of rust eighteen years later. Not only that, but the quality of the gloss and the consistency of the paint appears superb – just look at the video to see for yourself.
He then refitted himself and the quality he’s achieved is incredible: look at the panel gaps, the ripple-free flanks, and the precise door alignment; we doubt we (or you) have often seen work of this standard coming out of a home garage. We urge you to come to Abingdon to take a look at it for yourself; we promise you won’t be disappointed.
Painted wire wheels (new at the rear, including the splines; the owner simply wouldn’t countenance putting new wheels on old splines…) are shod with good-quality Uniroyal Rallye tyres. And yes, the wire wheels are painted rather than chromed: LJK Setright felt as strongly about this as every other well-informed engineer; spokes shouldn’t be chromed as it weakens them. This is yet another example of a job on this car that has been done properly.
The extensive chromework is, of course, immaculate.
We’ve spotted a small dink on the rear of the offside front wing just under the chrome trim, and, ever the perfectionist, the vendor tells us that he thinks the new owner might want to fit a new mohair hood. While he did replace the hood as part of the restoration, he thinks it lets the rest of the car down now as it’s a bit creased. We’ve looked at the photos, and there doesn’t appear to be much wrong with it, and who drives one of these with the hood up anyway!
